RARE EARTHS 101THE BASicS, EconomicS, Supply cHAin
And ApplicATionS
The rare earth elements are the 15 lanthanides: lanthanum (La - #57) through to lutetium(Lu - #71), plus yttrium (Y - #39)
REE are grouped as light rare earth elements (LREE) or heavy rare earth elements (HREE). Whilethey are not particularly “rare” in the earth’s crust, they are generally not concentrated incommercially viable ore deposits.
LREE (Light rare earth elements)
*Those in bold have been identified as “critical” rare earth elements by the U.S. Department of Energy
RARE EARTH BASicS
3
Li4
Be
40
Zr41
Nb
31
Ga32
Ge
72
Hf73
Ta
58
Ce59
Pr60
Nd61
Pm62
Sm63
Eu64
Gd65
Tb66
Dy67
Ho68
Er69
Tm70
Yb71
Lu
49
In50
Sn
Other Rare Metals Light Rare Earths Heavy Rare Earths
57
La
37
Rb55
Cs
39
Y
Silver, silvery-white, or gray
High luster, but tarnish in air
High electrical conductivity
Occur together in minerals
Many fluoresce strongly under UVlighting
High melting and boiling points
Catalytic, chemical, electrical, metallurgical,nuclear, magnetic and optical properties
Most REE compounds are stronglyparamagnetic
common pRopERTiES oF RARE EARTHS
Lanthanum (La) Cerium (Ce)Praseodymium (Pr)
Neodymium (Nd)Samarium (Sm)
Europium (Eu) Gadolinium (Gd)Terbium (Tb)Dysprosium (Dy)Holmium (Ho)
Erbium (Er)Thulium (Tm)Ytterbium (Yb)Lutetium (Lu)Yttrium (Y)
HREE (Heavy rare earth elements)
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One of the most important applications of REEis high strength permanent neodymiummagnets (NdFeB) or “neo-magnets”. They areessential to many consumer products such asmicrophones, loudspeakers, headphones andcomputer hard drives. Higher value productsthat use large amounts of neo-magnets includehybrid and electric vehicles, industrial motors,air conditioners, electronic bicycles and windand tidal turbine generators. Demand forneo-magnets is estimated to grow by 6-8% peryear to 2016.
Another very important application of REE,particularly yttrium, terbium and erbium, arelight emitting diodes, or better known as LED’s.The global LED market is estimated to beU$94 billion by 2020, representing approximately60% of the total lighting market. The compoundannual growth rate between 2010 and 2016 isestimated at 35%. (Source: LED Magazine)
Color monitors for computers, consumerelectronics and televisions are dependent onREE phosphors for the colours red (europium),blue (europium) and green (terbium). Glassmonitors, and other glass applications such ascameras, also require cerium oxide as a polishingcompound.
The use of REE in medical applications isincreasing due to new drug treatments,diagnostic techniques and medical equipment.
Another main use of REE i s cata lysts ,specifically fluid cracking catalysts used in therefining of crude oil.
RARE EARTH ApplicATionS